Users Guide
Table Of Contents
- About This Guide
- Dell EqualLogic Auto-Snapshot Manager/Microsoft Edition Version 5.4 User's Guide
- Introduction to ASM/ME
- Functions Provided By ASM/ME
- Supported Applications
- HIT Groups and Multiple Machine Management
- ASM/ME Smart Copies
- Smart Copy Types
- Smart Copy Operations for Template and Thin Clone Volumes
- Robust Data Recovery
- Thin-Provisioning a Volume
- SAN Data Copy Offload
- Scripts and Command Generation
- Alerts and Event Notification
- Remote Installations
- Failover Cluster Support
- ASM/ME and the Virtual Snapshot Service
- Functions Provided By ASM/ME
- Configure ASM/ME
- PS Series Group Requirements
- Windows Computer Requirements
- Required Access Controls
- VSS/VDS Service Access to the Group
- Access to Volumes and Snapshots
- iSCSI Target Connections
- Volume Mount Point and Drive Letter Assignments
- Mount Point Constraints in Cluster Environments
- ASM/ME Settings
- ASM/ME Graphical User Interface
- Start the ASM/ME GUI
- Tree Panel
- Tree Panel Behavior in Failover Cluster Environments
- Tree Panel Nodes
- Tree Panel Icons
- Group SharePoint Farm Nodes, Clusters, or Host Nodes
- About Aliases
- Customize Color Themes
- HIT Groups
- General ASM/ME Operations
- About Volumes
- Operations on Failover Clusters
- About Collections
- About Schedules
- About Smart Copies
- Restoring Data
- View Multipath Information
- View I/O Details
- Using ASM/ME with Exchange
- View Exchange Applications in ASM/ME
- Exchange Operations
- Overview of Exchange Smart Copies
- Exchange eseutil.exe Utility
- Recovery Considerations for Exchange
- Checksum Verification and Soft Recovery
- Run Checksum Verification and Soft Recovery Immediately
- Run Checksum Verification and Soft Recovery After Smart Copy Creation
- Schedule a Global Verification Task for Checksum Verification and Soft Recovery
- Run Checksum Verification and Soft Recovery on a Remote Host
- View Checksum Verification and Soft Recovery Status
- Checksum Verification and Soft Recovery Logging and Notification
- Create Exchange Smart Copies
- Schedule Smart Copies for Exchange Components
- Recover Exchange Data
- Using ASM/ME with SQL Server
- Using ASM/ME with Hyper-V
- Using ASM/ME with SharePoint
- SharePoint Installation Considerations
- Plan to Install on a SharePoint Farm
- Example of ASM/ME Installed on a SharePoint Farm
- Example of a SharePoint Farm with a SQL Cluster
- Install ASM/ME on a SharePoint Farm
- About Changes to an Existing SharePoint Farm
- Remove a HIT Group Host From a SharePoint Farm
- Add a Writer Host to a SharePoint Farm
- Change a Writer Host in a SharePoint Farm
- Change the Writer Host and Disable the VSS Writer in a SharePoint Farm
- Respond to Changes in a SharePoint Farm
- View SharePoint Farm Components in ASM/ME
- SharePoint Smart Copies
- Restore Options for SharePoint Smart Copies
- Availability of SharePoint Data Restoration Operations
- Mount a SharePoint Smart Copy
- Restore Selected Databases from a SharePoint Smart Copy
- Restore a Database In-Place From a SharePoint Smart Copy
- Restore a Database From a SharePoint Smart Copy as a New Database
- Restore an SSA From a SharePoint Smart Copy
- Using the Command Line Interface
- Introduction to ASMCLI
- How to Use ASMCLI Commands
- General Command Syntax
- ASMCLI Command Summary
- Command Parameters
- ASMCLI Commands and Their Syntax
- ASMCLI -alert
- ASMCLI -breaksmartcopy
- ASMCLI -cloneReplica
- ASMCLI -configureASM
- ASMCLI -configureCHAP
- ASMCLI -createCollection
- ASMCLI -delete
- ASMCLI -deleteCollection
- ASMCLI -enumerateiSCSIPortals
- ASMCLI -enumerateSmartCopies
- ASMCLI -help
- ASMCLI -list
- ASMCLI -modifyCollection
- ASMCLI -mount
- ASMCLI -Properties
- ASMCLI -restore
- ASMCLI -selectiveRestore
- ASMCLI -shutdownsystray
- ASMCLI -shutdownverifier
- ASMCLI -smart
- ASMCLI -unmount
- ASMCLI -verify
- ASMCLI -version
- Use a Script to Create Smart Copies
- Recover a Clustered Volume From a Clone
- Index
On any volume in the tree panel, you can perform the following activities:
● In the Properties panel, click the Volume name to open the Windows Explorer dialog box.
● In the Smart Copy panel, click the underlined number in the Smart Copy Count field to view details about the Smart
Copies of the volume. In the tree panel, the selected Smart Copy is highlighted.
● In the PS Details panel, click the name of the PS Series group to launch its Group Manager GUI.
● In any panel, click the Help icon to display a tool tip describing the terms used in that panel.
About Thin-Provisioning Volumes in HIT/Microsoft
Thin-provisioning (also called volume rethinning) allocates space efficiently by locating space not used by files in a volume. With
a thin-provisioned volume, the group allocates space based on volume usage, enabling you to provision more space than
physically available.
Windows Server 2012 R2 or later includes built-in support for thin-provisioning. Windows Server operating systems inform the
PS Series group that space can be unreserved soon after a file is deleted. You must use thin-provisioning provided by HIT/
Microsoft when any of the following conditions apply:
● You disabled the operating system’s built-in thin provisioning support
● You updated from a pre-Windows Server 2012 R2 system
● You moved a thin-provisioned volume from a system running an earlier version of Windows
Thin-provisioning might be inappropriate for environments that require guaranteed space for a volume. In addition, you cannot
thin-provision a volume that has replication or synchronous replication (SyncRep) enabled. Before you thin-provision a volume,
see the Dell EqualLogic Group Manager Administrator’s Guide for more information.
When you thin-provision a volume using ASM/ME (or with command-line tools in HIT/Microsoft), ASM/ME creates a large
temporary file on the volume, which is deleted when thin-provisioning completes. You can adjust the amount of free space used
by this temporary file by:
● Reducing the percentage of space used for the temporary file when the volume use is heavy
● Increasing the percentage of space used for the temporary file on volumes with little I/O traffic, which thin-provisions much
space as possible
Schedule Smart Copy creation outside the thin-provisioning window. Otherwise, the Smart Copy will contain that large
temporary file.
The results of the thin-provisioning operation are not immediately visible in either the ASM/ME GUI or the Group Manager GUI.
Thin-provisioning a volume can take several minutes, depending on the size of the volume and how busy the group is. Refresh
the host in the ASM/ME GUI or refresh the Group Manager GUI to view the updated amount of free space for the volume.
Hyper-V VMs might pause during a thin-provisioning operation. The VM resumes normal operation after the thin-provisioning
operation completes. You might want to start or schedule the operation during less busy times.
Thin-Provision a Volume
Before you begin, make sure you understand the effect of thin-provisioning on operating systems and Smart Copy schedules.
See About Thin-Provisioning.
1. In the Volumes node, right-click a volume and select Rethin Volume.
The dialog box shows you the amount of space that can be reclaimed after the thin-provisioning (rethinning) operation.
2. Click Next.
3. In the Rethinning Parameters dialog box, optionally change the percentage of space to be used by the temporary file to
accomplish the thin-provisioning operation, and then click Finish.
The rethin operation is performed and a progress screen opens. The screen closes when the operation is complete.
NOTE:
If you lose power during a thin-provisioning operation, the temporary file created during the operation can
remain in the root directory of the volume being thin-provisioned. The temporary file has a file name in the form
eqt_*.tmp. Delete this file after the system restarts.
To set up a schedule for thin-provisioning, see Schedules for Thin-Provisioning.
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General ASM/ME Operations